Ohio

Statement on Ohio House Bill 493 from SEIU Local 1: “Heartbeat Bill” Hits Working Women the Hardest

Following is a statement from SEIU Local 1 Northern Ohio Coordinator Yanela Sims urging Governor Kasich to veto House Bill 493:

“The passage of the so-called ‘Heartbeat Bill’ by the Ohio General Assembly is yet another attack on working families in the state of Ohio. Working women who cannot afford to flee from Ohio to a state that recognizes their reproductive rights will be most impacted.

“Women have fought for the right to legal, safe abortions over the course of the last 100 years. If the state of Ohio forces women to carry pregnancies to term after a fetus’s heart beat is detected, it will strip women of their right to choose when they become mothers. The attacks on this right, just like attacks on union rights, voting rights and others, are a way to keep the top one percent in charge of this country. When women have access to various forms of birth control, they have greater access to the type of jobs that their families and their communities need. This is an issue of economic justice.

“Women in the state of Ohio need good jobs, safe communities and opportunities to improve the quality of life for their families. We need legislation that ensures a better future for workers. The state needs to create jobs with higher wages, ensure affordable health care and build a public education system that effectively educates our youth. The state should avoid taking away the rights of anyone – men or women.

“I urge Governor Kasich to stand by his previous statements of opposition to this legislation and to veto this bill.”

# # #

Service Employees International Union Local 1 unites nearly 50,000 workers throughout the Midwest. SEIU janitors, security officers, food service workers, and others are working with community leaders to advocate for the quality services the public deserves and the good jobs our communities need.

Comments Off on Statement on Ohio House Bill 493 from SEIU Local 1: “Heartbeat Bill” Hits Working Women the Hardest

Thanks to the support of their members, community leaders and allies, Cincinnati and Columbus janitors won a new three year master janitorial contract. The contract was approved by an overwhelming margin on December 3.

The contract, which covers more than 1,300 SEIU Local 1 janitors, increases wages over three years.

Cincinnati and Columbus janitors held a series of events, including protests and a press conference, with record levels of turnout from their members and the community.

The agreement strengthens the union at a time when Right to Work is a possibility in the state, and also demonstrates the union’s solidarity during this challenging time.

“This agreement is proof that when union members stand with one another, they can achieve anything,” said Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1. “The economic gains in this contract will help our members and the Columbus and Cincinnati communities now and over the next three years.”

Comments Off on Columbus and Cincinnati Janitors Ratify Three Year Agreements

Workers at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport will join workers at airports nationwide at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to advocate for an increase in the minimum wage.

In addition, at 5 p.m. that day, fast food cooks and cashiers, other service industry workers and community allies along with Raise Up Cleveland, a group advocating a $15 an hour minimum wage, will rally in front of the McDonald’s at 3050 Carnegie Ave., according to a release from the Service Employees International Union.

It’s part of a “Fight for $15 day of disruption” that will include protests at nearly 20 major airports; strikes by McDonald’s fast food cooks and cashiers from coast to coast; and demonstrations by baggage handlers and cabin cleaners at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and hospital workers in Pittsburgh.

Diane Hudson wants a new union contract that will bring her family out of poverty. She works as a janitor at the Columbus Academy, a private PreK-12 school in Gahanna. Hudson supports her elderly mother and struggles every month to make ends meet. A living wage would mean “we don’t have to be under so much stress, living paycheck to paycheck,” she said.

On October 29 hundreds of janitors held a rally at the Great American Tower in Cincinnati to kick off contract negotiations. The new contracts will affect 1,800 members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 in central and southern Ohio, including 800 janitors who work in the Columbus area. The current Columbus contract, which expires December 31, covers janitors who clean the offices of Columbus’ largest companies, including Nationwide, Huntington, JP Morgan Chase, and AEP.

Benefits are also an issue for Diane Hudson. “I’d like to get paid for PTO time,” she said. “Often when I put in for it, it’s denied. We also need a better health plan.” Hudson is not on her company’s insurance plan because she cannot afford the high premiums. “It would mean a great deal to me to be able to go to the doctor when I need to,” she said.

Hudson’s employer is Scioto Services, a cleaning company that contracts janitorial services to the Columbus Academy. Full-time tuition at Columbus Academy ranges from $17,500 to $25,000 a year. Its annual operating budget is $25.7 million.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Almost 2 million Ohio workers do not have access to paid sick leave, which a new report finds could be affecting the health of their families.

The research, from Florida Atlantic University, says families without sick-leave benefits, including those with children, are twice as likely to delay health-care treatment.

Working mother Carzella McGlothin of Cleveland says she worries about the spread of illness when people come to work instead of staying home when they’re sick.

And because she doesn’t have paid sick time, she loses money when she stays home to care for a sick child.

“A parent needs to be with their kids when they’re sick, because we know what they’re going through instead of putting it all on other people to watch our kids while we’re at work and they’re sick,” says McGlothin. “My family, we all pull together, but it’s kind of hard because everybody works. So, it’s a tough cookie trying to get it together.”

The study found people in low-wage jobs without benefits are most vulnerable, and sick workers are also more prone to injuries and making mistakes.